Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 19, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 6, Winnipeg free press Friday june Winnipeg free press Freedom of Trade Equality of civil rights Liberty of religion published and printed us Days a week at 300 Carton Street Winnipeg r3c 3ct by Canadian newspapers company limited Telephone 943-9331 Donald Nicol publisher Johiel Dafoe Edi Livial Page editor Murray Burt managing editor waiting for the court editorials Reading the minds of the justices of the supreme court of Canada is a fruitless occupation at the Best of times. To try to read their minds on the government s constitutional Resolution when it appears those minds have not yet been made up is particularly unrewarding. The most that can be inferred from the news that the court will not have a decision on the Constitution ready for its next collection of judgments on monday is that the provinces Legal Challenge to the Federal government s constitutional approach was never the irrelevance prime minister Trudeau claimed it was. Judges from three provincial courts have already recognized the substance of the provincial Case. Justices of the supreme court Are demonstrating that it deserves thorough consideration. If that consideration robs the present government of the Chance to proclaim its Patriate Constitution on july 1, then the government has Only itself to blame. If it had agreed to a supreme court reference in the first place the Issue would have been settled Long since. At any rate the relevance of a july 1 proclamation has pretty Well vanished. In prime minister Trudeau s mind it was to be a symbolic gesture of Canada s constitutional maturity and National Unity. Since his constitutional strategy has been anything but unifying that gesture loses its Point. If As seems possible the wait for a supreme court decision will keep the Resolution out of the hands of the British parliament until next fall various political plans could be upset. If prime minister Trudeau does have any plans for retirement he will no doubt put them off until the constitutional future is Clear and those of his colleagues who lust to succeed him will have to wait a Little longer. Premier Lyon s plans for a provincial election which cannot be delayed indefinitely could also be thrown into some confusion. The furious lobby of British members of parliament could become More than a Little tedious if it carries on until next autumn. Even the most receptive my is Likely eventually to feel he has been Given a surfeit of lunches by competing Federal and provincial lobbyists. Whatever the inconvenience for politicians most canadians Are Likely to find a delay in the supreme court judgment quite bearable. Civil rights would Likely survive for one More summer without being entrenched in the Constitution. National Pride would not be fatally wounded if for a few More months the British had the Power to Amend the British North America act. When the decision does come Down there will be either a Brief and angry political debate if it favors the government and a Long and tedious process of renegotiation if it favors the provinces. A quiet summer before either of those eventualities would have its charms. Doctors the Price of peace Manitoba physicians Are now sitting pretty. They have won an increase in medicare fees that exceeds the rate of inflation per cent on the fees against 11 per cent on consumer prices. The new fee schedule will allow them to maintain or improve their position with average income about four times that of the average Manitoba wage earner. But they have not succeeded in improving the system by which medicare fees Are established. Nor have they begun to tackle the extraordinarily High expenses of medical practice which they report on their income tax returns far exceed ing expenses of practice in other provinces which Cut deeply into the payments they receive under medicare for services they provide to patients. The bulk of the Money they have pried out of the government will be applied to raising the fees for All physicians faster than the Cost of living has risen in the same period. Small additional amounts will be applied to dealing with the medical income problems that actually affect the Quality of health care the Scarcity of anaesthetists for example and the shortfall in radiologists technical fees which has led to mass opting out by radiologists. The present system of fee bargaining obliges the govern ment and the Manitoba medical association to seek a settlement which will rally the support of a majority of Mma members. But anaesthetists and radiologists like any other Small group that May encounter particular difficulties Are minorities in the profession. Their concerns must always take a Back seat though a shortage of anaesthetists and opting out by radiologists Are much More damaging to the Public interest than a Point or two above or below inflation for physicians fees generally. The binding arbitration route which is routinely used to Settle teachers contracts and which is being used to set the pay scale for Hospital technicians was open to the govern ment in its dispute with the doctors. Rather than accept arbitration the government chose to throw More Money into the pot and agree to the Mma s last proposal which combining the across the Board 13 per cent increase with the extras for some groups comes to 15.5 per cent. We will never know what an arbitration panel would have awarded the doctors. But the government paid a Price for settling through negotiation the Price of accepting 15.5 per cent. An arbitrated settlement might have been More costly or might have been cheaper but arbitrators freed from the necessity of catering to a majority of doctors would have had greater Freedom to apply the Money where it is most needed among minority groups so As to attract the types of medical manpower the province most needs. Binding arbitration of medicare fee disputes As recommended last year by the Hall commission which the Mma has endorsed includes an end to opting out by doctors who wish to charge More than the medicare covered fees for their services. The Public needs that Protection for the effective Ness of medicare quite As much As doctors need a More rational system for protecting their earning Power. When health minister Bud Sherman and Mma president or. Frank Pearson sit Down to review the lessons of this year s dispute the merits of arbitration should be on the Agenda. The across the Board increase ensures that the Gross income of any doctor who does As much work this year As he did last will be 13 per cent higher this year than it was last the data on expenses of medical practice suggest that Manitoba doctors have a further Opportunity to increase their take Home pay by better control of expenses. Current High interest rates though they Are hard on borrowers present Golden opportunities to High income groups such As doctors who have funds to invest. This is a Good time to be a doctor in Manitoba. I can fuel All the people most of the time i can fuel some of the people some of the time i can fool with fuel prices anytime r an evening with the crts the incidental Leader the Saskatchewan Liberal party picked a new Leader last weekend but reports from the Saskatoon meeting appeared to indicate that the selection of 31-year-old Ralph Goodale a lawyer former broadcaster and former member of Parlia ment was almost incidental to the bigger problem at hand that of electing somebody anybody in Saskatchewan who was willing to be identified Ara Liberal. The reports mentioned or. Goodale election As Leader but Only after statements about How Saskatchewan was going to Benefit As the result of the special attention that would be directed its Way by a grateful National government. The party president Jack Weibe pointed out that Saskatchewan might be the place for the Liberal party to get a toehold in the West because it was the last province to have a provincial Liberal government. Or. Weibe admitted that it had been ten years since that government had lost Power but said it was a Shorter period to be without the benefits of liberalism than had been the Case in any of the other Western provinces. Or. Weibe also said other things that could Only have been said in Western Canada at a gathering of the Liberal faithful. He said the Federal government had been bending Over Back wards to regain support in the West and that the Federal government had helped whenever needed. Or. Weibe neglected to identify More clearly whether the us he referred to included westerners generally or just liberals who happen to be living in the Western part of the country. Their numbers have been dwindling with every new backward Bend of the Federal government to help the West. They Long since qualified As an endangered species. If or. Weibe was referring to Western canadians generally he made no Effort to explain How the Bac bends had left the party with Only two Federal members and one provincial representative in Manitoba and no elected representatives at All West of Winnipeg. The Federal minister of finance Allan Maceachen had to reach Back 44. Years to find an example where Ottawa did something in this Case extend depression assistance for the Prairies that actually angered Ontario and Quebec. Back in 1937, the time mentioned by or. Maceachen the liberals elected 56 members each in Ontario and Quebec but also had 35 members representing Western Canadian constituencies. Where Are we just to get things straight . Robson the chairman of the Canadian radio television and telecommunications commission hearings in Winnipeg told an individual who presented a Brief on Canadian Content the Atlantic provinces Are the East of Canada Ontario is the Centre and everything else is the West. If or. Robson has the time during his visit to Winnipeg he might drive a few Miles East of the City and inspect a Federal sign on the Highway. The sign says that it Marks the longitudinal Centre of the country. If the sign is to be believed then Manitoba and not Ontario is the Central province of Canada. Air safety an article on the report of the Dubin commission on air safety appeared in the May 28 Issue of the free press. Similar articles appeared across the country in various publications. It was Gratifying to note the publication of the first part of the report but shocking to hear the response by minister of trans port Jean Luc Pepin. Jean Luc Pepin it was disappointing to hear that or. Pepin feels it necessary to appoint a commission to study the commission s report. This will obviously mean fur ther unnecessary and lengthy delays in implementing any of the commission s recommendations. Or. Pepin As the minister responsible should be prepared to adopt immediately at least some of the More urgent recommendations. Furthermore to have the report reviewed by persons who Are part of the same administration that is criticized is outrageous and contemptible. Or. Pepin with flagrant misuse of his Power has managed to sentence the report to a Hasty death. He might As Well have sentenced the rest of the population to the same Hasty death Given his callous disregard for the urgency and importance of air safety reforms. I am a Canadian who frequently travels by air and who has followed with great interest the hearings of the Dubin commission. I believe it made a thorough and honest attempt to meet its mandate. It is frustrating to see the govern ment postpone badly needed reforms. I Hope that it does not take another major disaster before action will be taken. If or. Pepin has any sincere concern for Public safety he will recon Sider his position and give this report the priority it deserves. Caroline b. Cramer Winnipeg letters by Fred Cleverley the Stopwatch Brand of Canadian Content regulation used by the Canad an radio television and telecommunications commission is unpopular be cause it measures Quantity rather than Quality. However during five hours of Public hearings by the commission in Winnipeg wednesday evening no one suggested a practical method of Chang ing the measuring stick. No homosexuality there were Many other suggestions. They ranged from telling the crts to drop All regulations and allow custom ers to watch and listen to what they wanted to a plea from the women s Catholic league of St. Boniface that the crts expand its authority to pre vent any program on any station from dealing with a subject such As Homo sexuality that did not meet their ideas about Canadian value standards. The local actor s Union wanted the crts not Only to continue Canadian Content rules but to expand them to ensure regional production Content to protect them from the dominance of Toronto and Vancouver and from the non intellectual non informed Winnipeg executives of the Csc. The actors came closest to suggesting an alternate method of measuring Canadian Content through a Point system for individual programs. 1 the Winnipeg film group whose representative told the meeting that there were 70 Independent film makers in the City went on to Call for a whole new bureaucracy a Board whose main Job would be to commission Independent film makers to produce programs for the television stations and the new moguls of pay to. A further refine ment would have the Isoard perform As a super tax funded agent finding out the kind of films the Independent producers would like to make and then seeking out stations and networks which would use them. One delightful presentation by Karl Heinz Pohl representing the Pineridge trailer Village located 16 Miles outside of Winnipeg told the Board How Ordi nary citizens armed Only with a Calcut the Winnipeg free press welcomes letters from readers. Writers must give their name and address. The author s name will be used and letters Are subject to editing. Lator were Able to figure out that the Manitoba Telephone system was really demanding in a 15-year contract the sum of for a satellite receiver and Cable system that the citizens eventually purchased themselves for less than or. Pohl Sang the praises of the Atlanta super station and of the com Mercial free movies that the receiver had brought the citizens either unaware or not caring that it was exactly the Type of pirate satellite station at which the crts is preparing to fire its heaviest artillery. Rather than calling the ramp commissioner . Robson gently asked or. Pohl whether he would be prepared to accept the Cana Dian satellite package when it was available. The Winnipeg Ger said he would consider it but reminded the meeting that he had a lot of loyalty to Atlanta because he got the kind of television he liked from that station. Several presentations were con Vinced that Canadian Content regulations did not go nearly far enough. The Manitoba women s Institute Felt that television news was generally depress ing and that it might be a Good thing to compel the stations to balance off the bad news with Good news. Canadian news this theme was echoed by a later submission that was heavy in its criticism of the Csc for thinking about contracting out work As the Independent film makers thought it should be compelled to do. This presentation wanted regulations to guarantee that 80 per cent of the news that was presented would be Canadian and suggested that even this figure might be broken Down in Law to dictate How much of this Canadian news should be National originated by the Csc How much could be International which would be considered Ca Nadian As Long As it was reported by on the spot Csc employees and How much could be allowed if it were not gathered by Csc employees but by other canadians. Chris Hurley of the Manitoba puppet theatre told the commission that Rou Tine exposure to television was a form of sensory deprivation and said he sought through his puppets to change the social values of his Young audiences. He said he had never Given a show on television but As he returned to his seat he was met by a representative of greater Winnipeg Cablevision offering him time on the Community Channel. Bombshell representatives of a Transcona school classroom dropped a temporary Bombshell by reporting the results of a 250-person Survey of their age group. The Young people preferred the Litt lest Hobo newsmagazine live it up and so on. Realizing that Only Canadian shows had been named the commissioners nearly fell Over themselves to get the details. They May have wished they had not asked. When pressed the Young pollsters said that their Survey had shown that 74 per cent watched other american shows that Only Cana Dian Content preferences had been to plated. The hearings provided an amazing insight into what bothers particular interest groups on television. Sgt. Dan Jones of the Winnipeg police reported that policemen think violence on television begets violence in real life and that television violence which starts with murder and works Down to simple burglary is really the reverse of real life where burglaries Are common and murder is rare. Sgt. Jones it turns out does not like Quincy because the detective in the show is always being outsmarted by the pathologist. The sergeant said that any real life detective that dumb would lose his Job. It was a matter of image. Throughout the meeting the four commissioners were either genuinely impressed with the Public interest or gave acting performances that de served oscars. They professed the right amount of sheer horror at the thought of them setting or policing Canadian values something quite Dif Ferent from policing Canadian Content. Their patience was endless even when the clock crept past Midnight. Considering that they had started the Winnipeg hearings 15 hours earlier and that they were required to sit through without comment one Brief that scolded them lest they approve cbc2, some thing that had been rejected with considerable publicity two weeks ago oscars should be in order. Youth employment War veterans diatribes the diatribes condemning Israel including your editorial Israel s unjustified raid june 10, could have been forecast beforehand. Israel is the Only nation in the world which is expected to act at All times with Christian love Charity and tolerance. Your editorial castigates the israelis for enraging and humiliating saudi the writer should have read further on in his own newspaper which carried a Story headed Canadian firm involved in scheme to get Iraq weapon Grade uranium. You have also carried a number of stories on the Arab Boycott organized by the saudis. Jews who have not been Able to get out of Iraq live rather barely exist a gulag of their own. And the israelis should worry about enraging these Fine countries or humiliating them what puerile Nesci ence. Comparisons Are odious but it comes to mind that not one word of condemnation was uttered when Iraq invaded Iran. In Lebanon the syrians and the Plo Are decimating the Christian minority and not even the christians on the outside give a Damn about that no one even commented on the Slaughter in South Yemen while in Ethiopia thousands of Fala shas have been Mur dered and thousands More sold into slavery. It is All Penny Ante compared to the atrocity of blowing up a nuclear bomb factory on a sunday when no one was around to get Hurt. Israel has Only to spit in the wind to reap condemnation. The reason is Clear. In the words of Tom Lehrer the protestants hate the catholics and the catholics hate the protestants and everyone hates the in the past jews had two options lie Down and die or run away. Run where the options have changed. Jews can still lie Down and die which is what most people wish they would do or they can defend themselves. As a jew i am Happy that Israel is defend ing itself not turning the other Cheek in True Christian spirit. As for the Arab world i Hope it is still choking from the egg on its face. Lee Schacter Winnipeg birthday mrs. Helena Kloppenstein Winnipeg born Hanover municipality Manitoba june in response to the article Job far youth programs free press june 6 i would like to clarify a few Points with regard to the federally sponsored youth employment pro Grams. The article written on the basis of comments by professor Morley gun Derson of the University of Toronto re Garding the employment programs in Ontario draws Many conclusions that do not apply to the rest of Canada. This summer in Manitoba there Are five youth employment projects sponsored by the Federal solicitor general s department providing employment for 21 students. The objectives of the program Are to create an environment in which youth will experience a positive interface with the criminal Justice system and to expose youth to potential career opportunities within this system. These pro Grams do not work at Cross purposes As suggested by professor Gunderson. It is unlikely that students working on these programs will develop unrealistically High wage expectations As All projects sponsored by the department of the solicitor general pay the Provin Cial minimum wage. S. Guttormsson project Leader operation crime prevention Winnipeg i am an historian and wish to Corre Spond with 1914-1918 Canadian or Brit ish army combat veterans. I am interested in recording and preserving first hand accounts of first world War experiences. If you served please Contact me and include your service number unit and rank held during the War. Michael a. Ferenz 1100 w. Wells St. Apt. 1102 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53233 would you mind changing the word death to divorce do us ;